The Love of Nagato Yuki
by MagusXIV
Summary: Ever since Haruhi started reading, Koizumi and Nagato have been acting strangely. Whether this is her doing, or what fate has decided, I have no idea. Part 1 of my Serious Projects Series, KoizumixNagato, and slight KyonxHaruhi.
1. The Reading of Haruhi Suzumiya

**Good evening/afternoon/morning one and all. Thank you for setting aside your precious time to read my first ever Haruhi Suzumiya fanfiction. This also is the starting of what I call my 'Serious Projects Series'. If you want to know more about that, just head over to my profile page.**

**I'm also trying a new writing style, one where the main character, or where the POV will not be of the main character. Think of it like, second-person style.**

**A few notes you may want to know before reviewing:**

**1) I'm using the manga as a baseline for the history of events for this story. There may be some events of the anime used, but wherever there is a clash between the events of the manga and anime, I'll be sticking to the manga instead.**

**2) Please pardon any tiny bits of errors in my language, be it spelling or grammatical. English is my first language, but I'm a normal human being with no beta reader. Apologies.**

**3) This chapter is just an intro. The main bulk will be thrown in during the later times of the story.**

**4) Disclaimer: I do not own The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. It belongs to author Nagaru Tanigawa, Kadokawa Shoten (manga and light novel) and Kyoto animation (anime).**

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><p>It was a normal day of school, the only thing bothering me being the weather. Damn winter, can't the months move a little slower?<p>

As usual, hiking up the hill was a bother, but not as bothersome as the what I'd do when I'm at the destination. All I could do was hope and pray that the yellow hair-ribbons didn't come to school.

"KYON! You're late! Penalty!" Suzumiya screamed as I stepped into the classroom.

"Late?" I asked, annoyance ever-present in my voice, "class hasn't even started yet. And have you any idea how hard it is to ride a bike without slipping on the ice around?"

"No, I don't, and I don't care!" she continued screaming, humiliating me in front of the entire class, and I was fairly certain the classes around could hear her complaints too, "all I know is that you're late! And for that you're going to treat the entire brigade to drinks, today!"

I just placed my face into the palm of my hand, and shook my head as I accepted my the terrible punishment Suzumiya sentenced me to. Arguing with the woman would be completely pointless, as she was no lawyer, and never accepted loss even if she made no sense while I made all of it. No matter what you were arguing about, she'd always win. I really did envy how she looked at life like that. Maybe because she was a girl? My my, what I'd do to become someone like her.

That thought ended the second I thought about it. Get a hold of yourself, Kyon. There's absolutely no way I'd want to be like Haruhi Suzumiya-chan. No. Way. In. Hell.

"Remember! I want fresh apple juice during my lunch break! No later!"she yelled into my ears, possibly deafening me when I took my seat in front of hers. My gosh, what have I done in my life to deserve this? Then again, if I managed to survive one full semester with this mad lady, I guess it wouldn't matter, since the term's already ending. Hopefully I wouldn't be in the same class as her next year.

Though, since it _was_ Suzumiya, I'd definitely be in her class next year. Sigh, one year with her and some others, and my normal life has ceased to exist already.

The boring lessons which I slept through most of passed by fast, and then it was time for lunch break, where my punishment came into effect. Since she was the only other brigade member besides me in class, I only had to treat her, no need for anyone else to mind. Suzumiya didn't seem to be too uptight about it as well; when I got her her drink, she was as delighted as a fangirl seeing Justin Bieber walk down the street. Meh, I wouldn't mind treating the others though. Asahina was a senpai, unbelievably, seeing how she gets abused by Suzumiya all the time. Koizumi, the smiling bastard, was in class 1-9, whereas for Nagato, I had no idea if she even attended class at all.

On the topic of the strange bookworm alien, I really had to wonder what kind of person she was. She did many things to save my life, and also helped us out in the club activities, which weren't much, but it helped to keep Suzumiya's mood in check. The most common thing you'd ever see her do was read. Read. And then find a new book, then repeat the process from step one. I used to wonder if she was reading to send data to that data entity crappy thing up there in space, or whether if she really was reading because she was interested, which I have seen before, thanks to Koizumi introducing chess to me.

All in all, this alien, who I still believe can be a real girl, was quite a wonder by herself. At least she has the courtesy to mind the business of others, not like some other female who sits behind me. Looking at the time, she must have had her lunch finished. What was quite bugging was the fact that she was so silent. She hadn't pulled my chair back, hit me in the head, or scream a really demanding command at me during the entire lunch break when she was eating. I guess it was time for me to investigate this strange phenomenon.

"Say, Haruhi," I turned back, and was given the shock of my life.

I must say, entering Closed Space was quite a scary experience. Having someone like Nagato attempting to cease my existence drove me mad. Seeing two Asahinas during the same time frame could indeed make some people traumatised for the rest of their lives. But nothing, absolutely nothing in the world or out of it, was enough to prepare me for the most horrific act I saw Haruhi doing.

Haruhi.

Was.

Reading.

That was it. The sign of the end of the world. The self-appointed president of the S.O.S. Brigade, who dedicated her entire life to finding the best ways to make life as fun as it could get without dying, was doing exactly what fun people never did.

Read.

She noticed my head turning back to face her, and then she out her book down.

"What's with that expression?" she questioned.

What's with my expression? You mean the one I'm wearing right now, where I'm looking at a reality-changer, actually reading, and possibly going to destroy the entire universe? What's with you reading that deadly piece of papers, that may possibly cause the leader of North Korea to send all of his missiles to decimate the entire damned world?

"Hello? You even there?" she waved her hand in front of my face a couple of times, but my gaze was fixed on the girl's face, my jaw wide open, "you know, with your eyes so wide, you look kinda funny, for a guy like you."

"What-what-that the hell are you doing?" I stammered, pushing myself away from the girl's murderous presence.

"What are you so uptight about?" she picked up the deadly piece of papers again, "what does it look like I'm doing? I'm reading."

"I can see that!" I snapped back, "I thought you hated reading!"

"Since when did I say that?" she put down her book, revealing an annoyed expression, "if I don't read, how would I become better than you?"

That was brutally blunt, "but-but, isn't reading _boring_ to you?" I was sure I hit a spot there, she hated boredom.

"Yeah, it usually is," she replied, then turned back to her book, "but not this book. It's... interesting."

I took a look at the front cover. A very good look. It was titled _Love Actually_. I remembered that show, always was played on the English channel during Christmas season. It was quite fitting, with winter close by, a story about Christmas didn't seem out of place. What was out of place was the reader. If the entire school suddenly had people falling in love with each other, I wouldn't be surprised. But not me, I'm no man for love. At least, I don't believe I am.

Yet.

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><p>"Honestly, don't you read the papers?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer, "it says that reading and walking isn't safe at all!"<p>

"Shush," she said, "I'm trying to read here."

Oh sure, you can't stand being ignored, and yet you're ignoring me? Unreasonable woman. The only reason I'm walking you to club is so that you don't accidentally run into a wall while walking. Can't even appreciate that much, huh? Typical of Haruhi Suzumiya-chan.

"Oh, good afternoon, Kyon-kun, Suzumiya-chan," we heard the ever-annoying voice of the ever-smiling pretty boy, Itsuki Koizumi, walking behind us, believably to be walking to the clubroom like us, "quite a coincidence for us to meet while walking for club, don't you think?"

Oh gosh, please, cut the crap. How on earth is this a coincidence if we're walking to the exact same place? Think logically. And stop smiling, damn you.

"Hey, Koizumi-kun," Haruhi bluntly returned the greeting, her eyes never leaving the book.

"Ah, picked up a new hobby, I see," the smiley face stated, noticing the obvious act that Haruhi was doing.

"It doesn't feel... correct..." I commented.

"Well, I believe people do change at times," he said, the smile not wavering, "before you know it, she'll be back to normal. I guess like what they say, all's well end's well."

It was never 'well' to begin with. At least not for me.

We reached the door of the Literacy Club Room, sorry, S. O. S. Brigade Room. Opening, we saw a girl in a maid uniform by the name of Asahina Mikuru, preparing a few cups of tea. While on the other side of the room, was the scary girl, and the one suitable for reading, Nagato Yuki.

"Hi there!" Asahina greeted us, "Kyon-kun, Koizumi-kun, Suzumiya-san!"

"Hmm," was all Haruhi said, her mouth barely opening.

Both Koizumi and I returned the greeting, but I managed to notice that Asahina was staring at the strange, murderous act that our self-acclaimed brigade leader was doing, the act that only Nagato would do, twenty four-seven.

"Umm, Suzumiya-san," Asahina questioned as she gave the brigade leader a cup of fresh, hot tea, "are you alright? You're not feeling sick, are you?"

Oh, so that's what it was. How could I not notice?

"No, nothing's wrong, I'm completely fine," she took a sip of the tea that was in front of her, her eyes never leaving the book, "thanks for the tea anyway."

Did she just _thank_ Asahina? I guess I stand corrected. The world won't end in 2012, it ends today. Or tomorrow.

"Uh, um, sure, you're welcome," Asahina stammered, then proceeded to serve the rest of us tea.

"Umm, Kyon-kun, Koizumi-kun," the maid asked us, "is Suzumiya-san really alright? She isn't acting normal..."

"She's never normal," I stated, "but what she's doing today is the true definition of the world folding in and imploding itself..."

Perhaps I exaggerated. Asahina flinched the moment I finished the sentence.

"Well, don't worry," Koizumi assured the second-year girl, "I mean, look at Nagato-san over there. She seems to be doing very fine with just reading."

I pictured the scene of Haruhi with glasses, reading a book at the corner of the room. No, no. Just, no. The world's distorted enough. No need to further the damage... I'm going to need to check my brain after this day.

"Hey, how about another round of checkers?" Koizumi said as he pulled a box out from his bag of ever-ready board games.

"Heh. Why not, I'm tired of playing a game I keep on losing at," I accepted the offer, referring to the game Chess. Four games, four losses. Not fun at all, I can say.

The day ended without anything interesting happening, and I was fine with it. Eight games of checkers, four losses, four wins. Close enough, but there wasn't enough time for a tie-breaker. Haruhi spent the entire time reading her Japanese-translated-from-English book, while Nagato spent her day reading something else I didn't bother to find out. Asahina just sat around and watched our games go by, and before we knew it, the school day ended.

Looking around, I saw our dear little brigade leader still reading, even though she was prepared to walk back home.

"Hey, honestly, are you alright?" I asked an innocent question, "you look as obsessed as Nagato in a library, for crying out loud."

She pulled out her bookmark, then placed it at the page she stopped.

"Hey, Kyon," she asked me, completely ignoring my question, "do you believe in love?"

That was random. But, better keep my comments to myself and answer her before she throws a tantrum.

"Yeah, I guess so," I replied, not knowing what else to say, "if it weren't for love, neither of our parents would have been together and we wouldn't exist, right?"

"No, no, not that kind of love... not so deep. I mean the type where you fall in love with someone, you know."

And if our parents didn't fall in love, we still wouldn't be here. How is that different?

"And would you have any example...?" I asked, wondering exactly what was going through her mind.

"I don't know... like maybe, if Koizumi-kun just went up to Yuki-chan one day and confessed his love to her, or something like that."

Lady, that is way over the line. Koizumi's just eternally happy. No love in him at all, and the only thing that Nagato's going to love is the library and it's contents. No way in hell could they possibly just be together all of a sudden.

"Right, I see," I sarcastically commented, "I'm doubtful, but we never know, you know?"

"Meh," she kept her book inside her bag, "anyway, I'm getting tired. Don't be late tomorrow, else you'll really be treating everyone to a drink!"

And with that happy statement, she left for home.

Sigh, Haruhi Suzumiya. Please don't just wonder things like that, you may possibly make these things real. I'd tell you, but you won't believe me, and I doubt you'd care anyway. And for love, it exists, just not for such young people like you and me. And definitely not Koizumi and Nagato, picturing them together sends a shock up my spine.

But heck, it'd be a real fine picture. Love in the S. O. S. Brigade, that'd be a change.

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><p><strong>Yeah, this story is a KoizumixNagato. I don't believe that Koizumi is 100% gay, neither do I believe that Nagato is forever alone. <strong>

**Reviews and criticism are expected, constructive or not. I appreciate anything you throw at me, be it compliments or trolls.**

**And, as part of my 'Serious Projects', I will not focus on another story till this is finished. Though it may take a while, work has been extremely taxing on both mind and body.**


	2. The Suggestion of Asahina Mikuru

**Edit: Curse my sleepiness! Forgot to proof read, and only did it AFTER the chapter got published. Fixed some minor mistakes which I identified, but there may be more, so I'm sorry.**

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><p><strong>Everyone, I am terribly sorry for the murderously late update. Please enjoy reading the second chapter, finally finished. Updates should be faster after next week, where I'll be quitting my job, and waiting for school to restart.<strong>

**And a big thank you to goldenmoo. Don't worry about bashing my story, a writer has to go through many criticisms in order to be deemed good. You have let me realised many mistakes that I have made, and I have done my best to correct them. Though there still may be errors which may have passed my dearly dying eyes, I do hope that you, meaning all the readers, can forgive me for them, and write a simple (or complex, your choice) review to point out my errors.**

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><p>"Two days?" I questioned, not believing the feat Haruhi accomplished, "you finished a full novel in just two days?"<p>

"It wasn't that hard," Haruhi replied my question, "just stay in the room for a full night and you're done."

Alright, the girl was really starting to impress me. First, she says she doesn't like doing boring things. Then she reads a book (a boring thing), and finishes it in less than two days. Strange girl.

"Anyway, today we're having a meeting! So no excuses if you're late!" Haruhi said, back to her ever energetic form.

Sigh. Can't argue now. Or ever, anyway.

"Alright, class!" the teacher said to us, "back to your seats and settle down! The bell has rung, so let's begin class!"

Sitting back down to my seat, I took another glance at the self acclaimed brigade leader. Even during lesson, she had this big grin on her face. Dammit, I am not confident that her 'meeting' was going to be safe anymore...

Class went by really slowly. For both myself and Haruhi. She kept complaining (not too loudly, of course) about how slowly class went, whereas for me, class was boring to the point where I could find myself lying my head on my arms, ready to knock myself out anytime anything happened. If not for the constant complaining of the noisy girl behind me, I'd have hit the hay long ago.

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><p>"Alright, I'm ready to go-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-" the second I finished packing my books and writing instruments, I felt a tug on the tie around my neck. Next thing I knew I was being pulled faster than the speed of light, going to who-knows-where.<p>

'Who', referring to the insane girl, Haruhi Suzumiya. Thank goodness I had my hand on my bag, or else I'd have to walk all the way back just to get it back.

Stop. Slam. Bang. Were the next few words, or definitions, I heard. Haruhi stopped, where inertia forced me to slam into the clubroom's table. Then Haruhi closed the door and locked it, confirming my suspicions of today not going to be a good day.

"My gosh, Haruhi," I straightened upright, rubbing my back to see if I had any broken bones that I was not aware of, "_what_ exactly do you have in mind for today's meeting?"

"A mystery!" she proudly exclaimed, pointing her finger in my face.

Right. Really specific.

"Anyway, why the locked door?" I took a seat, "Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina-san aren't here yet."

"Well, that's because they aren't supposed to hear our secret plan to find out the mystery!"

My hand instinctively went up to my face, "and exactly what kind of plan would that be, Haruhi-sama?"

"The plan to solve the mystery of love!" the girl said it with a massive smile on her beautiful face.

"Love?"

"Yes! Love is a mystery, right? So since it is one, and no one solved it yet, we'll be the first ones to!"

Alright. I'm starting to wonder whether this girl had any form of common sense in her hyperactive mind.

"Haruhi," I sighed, "love being a mystery is a metaphor. You understand?"

"No," her reply was instantaneous, which made me wonder why I even bothered asking the question in the first place, "all I care about is that it's a mystery just waiting to be solved! This is the opportunity of a lifetime for the S.O.S. Brigade, right?"

If you expect me to reply 'right', then you, my fair lady, are wrong.

"Very well, very well," I gave up, waving my hands in the air, "and may I have the honour of hearing the plan?"

"First, we need a victim!" the girl sounded like she was ready to kidnap someone. Terribly sorry, Asahina-san, I doubt I can save you today.

"And then...?" I pressed on.

"Then the rest is up to you."

"What?" I violently replied, "I didn't ask to be involved in this!"

"Too bad!" she stuck her tongue out to me, "I already went to all the trouble of doing the first parts of the plan, so you're going to do the next parts!"

"What first parts?"

"I had to bring you all the way from class to the brigade room! That's the first part! And be thankful, else you would be too slow!"

Sigh. Calm down Kyon, there's absolutely no way reasoning would do any good with this girl.

"Uh, umm," a feminine voice was heard from outside the door, "h-h-hello? I-is anyone in there? Could you please open the door?"

Oh no. Asahina-san. Your timing could not be any more worse.

"Mikuru-chan!" Haruhi energetically exclaimed as she unlocked the door for her senpai, "your timing couldn't be any better! Come in and change first, then we'll tell you about our awesome plan!"

Uh oh. Time to bounce. And, for the record, Haruhi, we don't have any 'awesome plan', so please try not to come up with something that isn't existent yet.

I hurriedly walked myself out of the room and closed it behind me, doing my best not to look behind. Honestly, already a full year in the club, and she never argued against wearing that maid uniform during club timings. Not that I'm complaining, since she does look quite cute in it, but still, just abiding to what Haruhi says all the time isn't very good for your social image.

"K-Kyon-kun!" Asahina-san said in her high-pitched voice, "you can come in now, I'm done!"

Scratching my head and checking if Haruhi accidentally locked the door, I went back into the room to see Asahina-san in her cute maid uniform. Haruhi, on the other hand, was thinking hard, while maintaining a smile so large it would make Koizumi look like a sad person.

"Kyon, you're back! Good!" the brigade leader said as soon as she saw me, standing from her seat. Honestly, I see nothing 'good' out of me going back into the room, "anyway, back to thinking of the plan! Now that Mikuru-chan is here, you have more help too!"

"Uh, what plan?" Asahina-san timidly asked.

"The plan to solve the mystery of love, of course!" Haruhi energetically replied. How much am I going to regret this?

"Oh, okay, but," Asahina-san said, and I believed she had no clue as to what was going on at all, "where's Koizumi-kun? And Nagato-san? She's usually the first one here, but she isn't here today..."

That's true. Whenever we went to the clubroom, Nagato would always be sitting at the corner of the room, reading a book. But today, she wasn't present when Haruhi threw me into the room. Strange, this wasn't what was usually done. Then again, 'usual' is a word that doesn't exist in the S. O. S. Brigade.

"I know why she isn't here!" Haruhi exclaimed, interrupting my chain of thought, "it's because she and Koizumi-kun are out on a secret date!"

"What?" Asahina-san and I both said, at the same time. Honestly, Haruhi, there is absolutely no way that Koizumi and Nagato can be together in a relationship. If that did happen, it would be the starting of a new world already.

"Is that really true?" Asahina-san innocently asked Haruhi, not having any clue to what was going on.

"Of course it is!"

Not.

"What other explanation would there be? They never skipped brigade meetings before, so they must obviously be out on a date in secret, so that no one will find out!"

"Okay, honestly Haruhi," I tried to get the girl back into reality, "Koizumi's just a happy guy, no way would he feel love, and for Nagato, she has enough romance in her life reading love nov-"

"Terribly sorry for my lateness, everyone," a smooth gentleman's voice could be heard as the door opened. Asahina-san, Haruhi and I turned to see Koizumi and Nagato entering the clubroom. The gentleman had his trademark smile on his face, while Nagato was wearing a seemingly expressionless look, the one she wore most, if not all, of the time.

Wait... why were they together? Nagato would usually be the first in the clubroom, where no-one would actually see her entering as she's that early, whereas for Koizumi, he was in class 1-9, I'm sure his classes ended the same time as Haruhi's and mine.

"Umm, why are you two together?" Asahina-san asked the two newcomers.

"Yes, why are you two together?" Haruhi repeated the question, only her tone a lot less girly, and a whole lot more sinister. Her face had this massive smile on it, that hid so much malicious intent, I didn't know if this girl was supposed to be a god or a devil.

"We had important and urgent matters to attend to," Nagato bluntly answered, her voice not having even a trace of emotion.

"In other words, the teacher just called us back for a few more minutes to help clean the classroom," Koizumi explained with his smooth tone.

"Oh, I see-, wait," I was about to just go with the statement until I figured something strange was going on, "Nagato's in the same class as you are?"

"There had been a change of students between classes," the steadfast girl said, reaching her hand to pull one of the books in the clubroom's bookshelf. Actually, they belonged to the previous literary club, thus Nagato could indulge herself in book world all she wanted.

"Right," I commented, "and you didn't tell us... why?" I glared at Koizumi. The gentleman just smiled his usual smile and shrugged his shoulders.

"It was not of importance," Nagato replied the question, opening a book about folk tales, the one about Momotaro if I wasn't mistaken.

"Hmph, lousy alibi..." Haruhi grunted and folded her arms, turning in the other direction from us. I'd like to say she gave up, but knowing the girl for a full year, 'giving up' was never a suitable option for her.

"Anyway, Suzumiya-san," Koizumi asked, "what about the meeting that you mentioned we were going to have today?"

"Hmm? What meeting?" she turned back to us, acting oblivious.

"You did mention we would have a meeting, no?" Koizumi asked yet again.

"W-what? Who told you about that?"

"Why, it would be Kyon over here, of course."

Next thing I knew, all eyes, except for Nagato's, were on me. Oh, that bugger. He did not just push the blame on me. Sure, I may have told him, but I didn't tell him to just make me the centre of attention, right?

"Well, h-he must have been joking!" she said back, her voice level being raised a bit. Then she glared at me with eyes that could kill someone on the spot. Thankfully my stature kept me alive, but I did get paralysed for a second there.

"Oh, he was?" Koizumi went with the flow, "oh ho, silly me. You pulled a good one on me, Kyon! Really got me there!"

He let out a laugh, but as for me, I had no idea exactly what was going on. And I don't see how that could be funny in any way.

After the short intermission, Koizumi, Haruhi, Asahina-san and I were engaged a short game of poker, where thankfully we didn't place bets, else I'd have to starve my way for the rest of the school week. While Koizumi was at the top, I did have to say I was amused at Haruhi's reaction everytime she lost a round, where she'd be extremely frustrated and demanded another round, only to lose again.

It was after a while that Koizumi had a sudden urge to answer nature's call. Me, determined to try and win Koizumi for the third time, continued the game, deciding to wait for the gentleman. Drawing my cards, I felt a little tug on my shirt. Realising it was from none other than our self appointed brigade leader, I sighed.

"What is it?" I asked, annoyance crystal clear in my voice.

"Ssh!" she replied rudely in a whisper, "not so loud! Anyway, after club today, meet me outside school! No running away!"

Goodness. There goes my free time at home. Well, sorry for my little sister then. She can't annoy me anymore, but I've got someone worse.

She then turned to Asahina-san and whispered something to her, which I bet could have been what she told me. I expected her to go to Nagato as well, so as to leave Koizumi as some victim for her malicious intent, but Nagato was left alone. But she was so interested in her book I hardly doubted that she cared for Haruhi's schemes.

Taking her seat again the minute Koizumi came back from the bathroom, Haruhi picked up her cards and continued playing. Throughout the game, she had her eyes on me the entire time, as if suspecting me of an evil deed that I didn't commit, or that I was about to commit. That did stop me from committing the act of running away, so, sigh, I guess I had no other choice but to meet her after school.

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><p>When club activities ended, I helped Koizumi pack his cards and then left the school building. But, at the gate though, I stood and waited.<p>

"Waiting for someone in particular, Kyon?" Koizumi noticed my waiting as he too left for home.

"Unfortunately, yeah," I answered, my mind preparing a good enough excuse, "Haruhi insisted that I had to walk her home today, so yeah. To prevent Closed Spaces and all that."

"Hmm, glad you are caring for the world like that, by caring for her. Good luck, Kyon."

"Thanks. I'll need it," I replied.

"As a matter of fact, I too, am waiting for someone," Koizumi stated, which surprised me.

"Oh, that's new. Who would that be? Someone from your class?"

"Correct. Oh, and here she comes," Koizumi said, waving to someone who was still in school compound.

Turning back, I was astonished to see a certain girl walking to us, a bag slung around her shoulder, a book in hand. Who was she? None other than Nagato Yuki.

"Well, now that she's here, I'm afraid I'll have to leave you alone for now, Kyon. I too, am escorting someone back to her home. Have some fun with Suzumiya-san, alright? Goodbye!" and with that, he put his arm around Nagato's shoulders, and they walked down the hill together. After a good distance, if I didn't observe wrongly, I saw Nagato's head tilt towards Koizumi's form, leaning her head on his arm. What was going on here?

"A-ah! K-Kyon-kun!" Asahina-san's voice cried out. Turning my back, I saw the girl, reluctantly getting pushed by Haruhi. This couldn't really be considered very bad compared to the other types of things Haruhi did to her.

"Alright, now that all of us are here, let's discuss the situation!"

"What situation? There isn't any situation," I sarcastically muttered.

"Of course there is! Yuki-chan and Koizumi-kun!" she replied in her energetic voice.

"Umm, what's the situation between them?" Asahina-san asked.

"Exactly! What is the situation between them? Kyon! You answer this question!" Haruhi shot me with her statement, making me flinch.

"Uh... if you didn't know, there isn't anything wrong with the two of them..." I replied.

"No, there is a situation between them! It's called love!" Haruhi pointed her finger at my face. All I did was sigh.

"Th-they're in love?" the poor senior asked, not having any clue to what Haruhi was planning.

"Of course there is! And through them, we can solve the mystery of love!"

"Alright, Haruhi," I said, "do you have any proof at all of the two being in love?"

"No, but you do!"

"No I don't!"

"Oh really now?" she moved right in front of me till I could feel her breathing on my body. I dislike such close body contact.

"Wasn't Koizumi-kun waiting for Yuki-chan, where they walked with each other home?"

"N-no, they didn't," I lied, trying to keep it from the mad brigade leader, "they went home by themselves."

"What?" she was not amused, "you were the one who could see the entire thing, but you didn't see them?"

"No..."

"You're lying!"

"N-no I'm not!"

"Stop pretending!"

"I am not pretending here!" I was getting quite annoyed, but tried to keep myself at a safe level of anger, "look, Haruhi, you're the brigade leader. Why would I keep something from you?"

"Hmm..." she grumbled angrily, "I thought there'd be something romance-y between them, but... why? Why are they not together yet?"

"Maybe they're hiding it from us?" Asahina-san came up.

"No, why would they-" I was about to dismiss the comment, until Haruhi interrupted me.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of it sooner? They're shy about their relationship!" Haruhi exclaimed, indirectly praising Asahina-san, "now, all we need is a way to find them being together..."

"I don't think it's good to-" I wanted to continue, but Asahina-san wanted to say something. So, as a man, I let her speak first. I regretted it the minute I allowed it.

"Why don't we... follow them?"

"Mikuru-chan, you're a genius!" Haruhi exclaimed in a voice louder than usual, "now, all we need is someone to stalk them..."

Both Haruhi and Asahina-san turned to face me. Oh crap, I could see what was coming...

"H-hey, I don't think I can-" I defended myself, but Haruhi's unreasonable-ness kicked in faster than me.

"Of course you can! Mikuru-chan had done a good job in thinking of such a wonderful idea, but you haven't done anything to benefit this plan!" Haruhi said to me, her voice not having a trace of sympathy for my freedom.

"What? Neither have you!" was all I could come up with as a comeback.

"Well, I'm the leader of this movement, so I choose who to do what! Mikuru has done a good job, so its your turn to make me proud!"

"Sigh, fine," I gave up, planting my face into my hand, shaking my head.

"Good luck, Kyon-kun!" Asahina-san cheered me on. Really encouraging, lady. Really encouraging.

And thus, as the three of us walked down the hill, I wondered how much I would have to go through just to spy on two of my closest friends.

Sorry, Nagato. You too, Koizumi.


	3. The Failing of Kyon

**This update took faster than usual. Hopefully nothing too bad came out of it.**

**Again, please leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter, or if you managed to point out a few mistakes that I've made in the story, be it grammatical, typographical, story/plot-line or characters being OOC.**

**I originally planned to make this chapter longer. But making it short seemed more suitable. The next chapter may be the longer one.**

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><p>"I'm home!" I shouted into my house as I locked the door behind me, to alert the only current resident in it: my little sister.<p>

"Kyon-kun!" she yelled as she leaped out of her hiding place in a lousy attempt to spear me to the ground, which was the little umbrella shack we had next to our entrance door.

"Aah. So scary," I replied to her failed attempt, "oh no, however am I supposed to get you off my back? Dear oh dear."

"Hey!" she retorted, "you meanie! I was trying to scare you there!"

"Didn't you hear me?" I replied as I put my bag down, the annoying brat still stuck to the back of leg, "I already admitted I was scared, didn't I?"

"But-but that was fake!" she let go of me, the uncomfortable sensation leaving my leg, "it wasn't-wasn't, umm, what's the word..."

"Legit?"

"That's right! Legit!"

"Well, then get used to it," I took off my shoes and got myself readied to take a bath.

"Waah! Kyon-kun, you big meanie!"

Yeah yeah, keep trying your lame moves on me. My heart's solid to about anything right now, my nerves made of steel. Nothing you can do will scare me, sister.

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><p>Sigh, homework. Whoever invented this must have been the most sadistic genius ever in the world. And whoever insisted that it had to be given everyday in school life made things a whole lot worse, and the pile just got larger when it was a Friday, the day you look forward to the weekend. Students loved the weekend, the short two-day term of freedom, but homework would just come in and laugh in their faces. The only thing worse would be what the teacher would do to you if you didn't do it. Well, time to get down to work, I guess. If I finished them now, I'd be free for the rest of the weekend.<p>

The minute I finished the first page of my mathematics assignment though, my phone rang. Awesome, an excuse to cut me some slack. Flipping my phone open though, I had to say I regretted answering the phone. But if I rejected it, I could tell what the person on the other line would do to me.

"Hello?" I greeted, and awaited the extremely loud reply.

"Kyon!" Haruhi's voice screamed through the line, deafening my right ear for a few seconds, "tomorrow's when the weekend starts! A Saturday! Do you know what that means?"

"N-no, I don't," I replied, rubbing my poor ear.

"Meaning it's the time couples go and have their dates! And you have a job when that happens!"

"Hey now, just wait a second, first of all, I didn't accept that thing, and secondly-"

"And secondly, you have to spy on Koizumi-kun and Yuki-chan! No slacking!"

Dammit.

"I've already crafted a flawless plan to let them get together by themselves tomorrow! Then you'll have an easy time!"

"Look, I appreciate the care and concern, but just being an intruder of someone's privacy isn't the nicest thing to do, you know?"

"Well, then just don't let them notice you!" very encouraging, Haruhi, very encouraging.

"We're just going to go on another mystery search! Then when they're together, you can do whatever spying you can on them!"

"Haruhi, honestly-"

"Just don't let them discover that you're following them! Or else they'll date each other in secret, where you'll have a harder time. So make this chance count!"

"Haruhi, dammit, listen to me-" there was a click sound, and then a long beep. Dammit. Did she just hang up on me?

Sigh, I can never win against that girl. There goes my weekend then, hopefully it doesn't get too rough. Oh yeah, and better alert my sister, else she'd be whining about my absence from the house during the weekend. Till then, once I'm done with my homework, I'd better get a good night's sleep. Better to ready myself now; I'll be in for a massive headache tomorrow.

* * *

><p>"Aww..." my little sister complained.<p>

"Don't whine about it, you're 12 already," I lectured my sister, "you're already quite responsible, and you're entering middle school soon. So act like the more matured girl you are and live without me for a day."

"But I wanna see the new movie..." she whined.

"I'll take you there tomorrow, okay? Be a little patient. You know how Haruhi is like when I'm late; spare me a thought, okay?"

"Hmph! Fine! Tomorrow! You said it!"

"Yes I did. Now go along, play your games or something."

"Yay! I'm going to watch a movie tomorrow!"

I simply smiled at my childish sister. Sure, she may be young, but she may be responsible at times, and anyway, I too wanted to catch the new movie.

Walking out of the door and putting on one of my father's golf caps, I started my walking journey towards the town. I'd have rode my bike, but I figured it would attract a lot of attention, and since Haruhi wanted me to go all 'James Bond' style, I figured attention would be the last thing I should attract, and the cap could help conceal my identity if looked from a wrong angle. She also demanded me to be early there, for some reason.

Once in town, I took a good look around, and noticed that none of the brigade members were present. Indeed, even the brigade leader herself was absent. Gosh, was she trying to fool me when she asked me to come early?

Oh well, while waiting, I took the opportunity to take a walk around town. Walking along the library, my mind thought back to the time Nagato and I were together when Haruhi demanded our presence during one of her one-of-a-kind 'mystery searches'. I'd bet that if she did have a conscience, or a will of 'interest' in her, I'd say that this would be her favourite place of all, since she could just drown herself in the flood of words the library would bring, and she wouldn't mind it at all. Give her a few years and I'd be positive that she'd read the entire place.

Sigh. Nagato really could be quite a good friend, if she was human. Then again, if she was human, she wouldn't be the way she was, and she'd just be a normal girl. If it wasn't for her, Haruhi wouldn't be able to get the literature clubroom for our daily activities, and if she wasn't here, Asakura would have me mutilated already.

While wondering, I didn't have a chance to focus on where I was walking. As I was looking somewhere else instead of the front, I accidentally ran into someone; or rather, someone ran into me.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" I heard an extremely familiar voice as I straightened myself to my senses.

"Speak for yourself..." I hit my head a few times to ensure I was still in reality.

"Oh! Kyon!" Haruhi said the minute she heard my voice, "just the man I wanted to see!"

Oh no, this can't be good.

"Come with me! I'll tell you the full plan!" she then grabbed my hand and pulled me somewhere.

I had to say, a girl pulling a male student would usually place a massive impact on his pride, especially in public. But strangely, I didn't seem to mind, for I was wondering about her taking me by the _hand_.

Why? What was this strange feeling? In most times, whenever she needed me somewhere, she'd pull me by the back of my shirt or by my tie, if we were in school. Yet now, instead of an extremely rude way of forcing me somewhere, it was as if she was just guiding me, her grip was gentle and her strides weren't that of a professional runner; it was just of a normal schoolgirl's. My face was feeling quite hot, as if it was turning red, and though it was an unpleasant feeling, I strangely found myself... being okay with it, if not enjoying every moment of Haruhi treating me normally, not violent.

"Okay, we're here!" she let go of my hand, and I found myself missing her warmth on my hand, "now I'll tell you what you need to do."

"I'm listening," since she treated me quite nicely today, I figured that I shouldn't be too hard on her with my words. Quite an achievement you've unlocked, Haruhi.

"Alright, so I've already called the other members of the S. O. S. Brigade to come, and we'll be doing our mystery search."

"Okay..."

"But you're supposed to be absent, as you've something else to do."

You don't say. I actually kinda do, you know.

"So what exactly will I be doing?"

"Well, I've already made a plan to get the two of them together while Mikuru-chan and I walk about and discuss our next phase of the plan. All you have to do is notice their behaviour and what they do together! I'll send them for lunch first, so maybe you can start from there!"

"Very well, thanks for the easy work," thank goodness I had asked for a little more cash from my parents the day before.

"Awesome! Let's go! To positions!" Haruhi said, completely 'General' style.

* * *

><p>Following Haruhi's orders, I found a seat at the nearest cafe, ordered my meal, and initiated my long wait for the two targets to arrive.<p>

Ah, a ramen cafe. If you couldn't get enough of true blue Japanese food, then such an area would be for you. Though there are other more posh and luxurious restaurants, the cafe would be a place where you wouldn't need to burn your entire wallet just for a meal, and you could indulge youself in good food for the rest of your time in the restaurant. As I waited patiently, I took another nibble off the noodles, and enjoyed every moment of the good bowl of ramen in front of me.

After a good five minutes of waiting, I managed to see that the couple I was sent to spy on entered the same restaurant I was eating at, which was both a good thing and a bad thing. Good that I was able to spy on them closer, and bad because I may be exposed faster than I wanted to.

I did my best to conceal myself from their sight, thanking the high chairs that could cover most of my body. As I was seated behind one of those benches with a completely covered back-rest, the only thing that was visible of me when looked at from the back was my head, and that's where the cap would be useful, hiding most of my face and covering my usual hair-style.

"Ah, that's quite a splendid spot, Nagato-san," a smooth voice was heard, and a chills ran up my back. Damn, did Nagato just _have_ to choose the spot right behind mine? I'm getting worried here...

"Quite a good place Haruhi-san asked us to go, don't you think?" the gentleman continued talking as I felt an impact on the bench I was sitting on. Great, they did take seat behind me.

"Hi and welcome!" one of the waitresses greeted the couple behind me, "what would you like to order?"

As they placed their orders, I took out my back up plan: a library book, to pretend to read. As my drink was still left unfinished, I could safely 'read' in peace, and hear whatever those two said to each other. If they had any idea that I was spying on them, or if they even knew that I was there with them, they didn't say it or make any noticeable actions about it, so I was guessing that I was pretty safe, and that they didn't know I was here.

As they had their meal, I wondered exactly what on earth I was doing. Why did I bother to comply with Haruhi's orders? I could just pretend to be spying on them, leave the two in peace and do whatever I wanted in my freedom.

Then again... a part of me wondered why I _did_ follow her orders. I thought to her previous plans before: usually she'd have a close eye on me, or get someone else to accompany me if I had other ideas. Today though, she completely trusted me, not sending anyone with me, or saying that I had a time limit. What made things stranger was how she took me just now. By the hand. Even if she didn't feel anything, I'm sure the book she was reading, or any love novel, talked about the significance of taking an individual by the _hand_. I could have sworn I blushed a bit back then, but then again, I enjoyed the warmth of her hand, and it was an experience not to have her look at me so threateningly during one of her important 'tests'. She'd usually be dead serious, and never wanted anything to go wrong, sometimes with the implementations of threats. But on this day, she just let me do the job freely, no threats or time limits, and had completely trusted that I'd do the job. Sigh, since she was going through such pains to make me feel good, I'd better make her happy too.

"Would you like to order some dessert?" a waitress asked me, snapping me out of my thinking.

"Uh, no, it's alright, thank you," I politely declined, doing my best to keep my volume down, lest the two behind me find out that I was stalking them.

"Oh, okay then," the waitress then walked to the two behind me and repeated her question.

"Would you fancy some, Nagato-san?" I heard Koizumi speak, "oh? Good choice. I shall have two servings green tea ice-cream, if you'd please."

Two? Oh, one for Nagato, and the other for yourself. Wait... didn't Nagato order something for herself? Koizumi did say the words 'good choice'... Maybe he's overfeeding Nagato? Doubtful. Perhaps he's just got a sweet tooth for ice-cream.

We waited a while, and after a few sips of my drink, I noticed the same waitress coming with the two servings of the ice-cream, and strangely, a shortcake along with it. So Nagato did order something.

"Here's your dessert, sir," she placed the desserts down, and I heard the two plates touch the table. Before I heard the third though, Koizumi interrupted the waitress.

"Oh no, the last ice-cream is for the dear gentleman sitting right behind us."

The hell?


	4. The Confession of Itsuki Koizumi

**A/N: Everyone, I am _terribly_ sorry for the excruciatingly, painfully late update. By right, I should be updating faster, now that I am out of work and back in school, but my old gaming habits have caught up with me, and my frequent 'house crashing with friends' does ruin my schedule a lot. With my sincere apologies, here's the fourth, and second final chapter to this story. I do hope you enjoy it, and if you notice any English or character mistakes I made, please drop a review so that I'll be noted (then again, if you wish to review this story for the sake of reviewing, go ahead).**

**Also, as stated, this is the second final chapter. Therefore, be prepared to wait quite a while for the next, and final, chapter, as I will do my best to make the finale the best. Your kind understanding is deeply appreciated. And sorry to everyone who enjoyed this story; I do not wish to make this fanfic too long.**

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><p>Turning my back, I was greeted by the warm smile of a familiar face, and the emotionless stature of another recognizable character. The former waved his hand as if we hadn't seen each other in a long time. Busted.<p>

"Here's some dessert for you, sir!" the waitress placed the serving of green tea ice-cream on my table, "compliments from the nice gentleman behind you!"

"Uh, right, thanks…" not knowing how to reply.

"Good afternoon, Kyon," Koizumi greeted me, "why don't you come over and have a seat with us?"

Not having the correct state of mind to improvise quick enough, and thinking that it would be better to stall for more time, complying seemed like the best option. Picking up the ice-cream, my cap, and not forgetting the library book, I took a seat next to Nagato, who seemed to have eyes on my library book.

"So, Kyon," Koizumi continued, "I do believe that Suzumiya-san said something about you having an errand to run, or something along those lines. Am I correct?"

"Yeah," I replied, trying not to give an explanation.

"So I believe that you've gotten it done already?"

Yep. It just ended the minute you greeted me.

"I guess so," I replied, still trying to run away.

"I see. And what did you want to do?"

Dammit, honestly, I don't feel good like this. The best option to choose now would be to make Haruhi happy, and lie to two of my closest friends. But, lying to them wouldn't be a good thing. Sigh, I give up. Let Haruhi bite me for all she wants.

"Tell you the truth, she wanted me to spy on you," I sighed at last, giving up.

"She?"

"Who else?" I gave him the 'Haruhi-totally-forced-me-to-do-this' look.

"Okay… but what I do not understand would be why she'd want you to do that," the eternal smiling face scratched his chin in wonder.

"Believe it or not," I swallowed an imaginary ball of air, bit my pride and decided to tell them Haruhi's mad plan, "she thinks the two of you are dating. Feel free to laugh."

What I expected was Koizumi to start laughing, and Nagato… to be like her normal self. What did happen though, was quite different. Koizumi just had this look of surprise on his face, and Nagato did have a reaction, if halting her hand in mid-air before grabbing another slice of her cake was called a reaction.

It really was quite awkward.

"Look here," I reasoned out, "it's Haruhi we're talking about here, right? Obviously she'll just think of something temporal, and then forget about it sometime later on."

"Perhaps…" Koizumi replied, looking to be deep in thought.

"When did this start?" Nagato asked all of a sudden, creeping the life out of me. She never asked anything that did not concern her… or did this concern her?

"Uh- just… yesterday," I replied, not knowing what to expect next. Nagato only asked questions that concerned the safety of Haruhi or anyone else… for her to ask something 'personal', that was something that meant I had to watch my back.

"I'm fairly certain that she suspected a little sooner than that," Koizumi commented, making me turn to him.

Wait a second… you mean they _were_ together? My mind has just been blown.

"Okay, right now," I cleared my throat, wishing to make a stand, "I have absolutely no idea if Haruhi really did think of it that seriously, and I have no idea whether she's really hardcore about it too. What I _do_ wish to know, though, is if there _is _something between the two of you."

Koizumi turned his head to Nagato, who was just looking down at the chair. If she had anything, be it an expression or whatnot, it was not visible. However, I could feel that she was trying to withhold something.

"I guess it's a secret no longer, Nagato," Koizumi sighed, as he took another bite off his dessert.

"What isn't?" usually, I'm not the nosy type, but the curiosity was too much for my stature to control.

"Let's just say, Kyon," Koizumi continued, "that you had the powers of Nagato. What would you do, if you had other intentions other than the ones given to you by your superiors?"

"You mean, like for your own personal intentions?" I replied, trying to grasp exactly what he was trying to say.

"Exactly," he replied, his smile fading, "and that is what our dear Nagato here has done."

Turning to the alien, I noticed that she didn't wish to make eye contact, with either of us, which I found strange. Was she trying to hide something?

"And what exactly did she do?" I asked in wonder.

"There has been some errors with me," the girl replied, still not facing us, "but the Integrated Data Sentient Entity believes that this does not interfere with the observation of Suzumiya Haruhi. It does not believe that terminating the errors will enable simpler monitoring."

Did that answer my question at all?

"And what errors would these be?"

"Emotions," Koizumi stated bluntly.

Remembering back to the events of entering the altered universe Nagato created, where everyone was a normal human, I recalled that Nagato said something about the IDSE threatening to delete her because of some errors, which I thought were emotions… but here, if what she and Koizumi are saying is true, that means the IDSE was actually okay with her having emotions…? Or was it because her emotions back then had something to do with Haruhi?

"Nonetheless," I said, breaking the awkward silence, "if what you are saying is true, and she does have emotions, it definitely has caught Haruhi's attention, which is why she threw me into this fray. What is puzzling me, though, is why the two of you are together."

"She knows it will catch Haruhi's attention faster if she went to contact you," Koizumi explained, his smile back on his face, "Asahina-san wouldn't do much to help her, approaching Haruhi herself wouldn't be a logical solution. Thus, being the only one who understands her best, I apparently was the most logical, and first choice of person she approached."

Self-praising show off.

"So she approached you to help her cope with these new… experiences of hers, am I correct?" I questioned.

"Apparently so," he replied, taking another bite off his dessert, "being someone special myself, I too struggle sometimes to wonder if I can get emotions to drive me. Sometimes it's best to go with what your mind tells you to do, but your emotions may guide you to a better outcome than what you originally believed."

"True that," I took another bite off my ice-cream.

Once the three of us were done with our meal and settled the bill, we walked out of the café, and decided to have a review of what we were supposed to do again.

"Well, Suzumiya-san apparently got the two of us to go mystery searching," Koizumi recalled, refreshing my poor memory of forgetting what I was stalking them for, "and you were supposed to be following us. So perhaps it would be a better idea if the three of us were not seen together, in case our dear Suzumiya-san tries to meet up with us?"

"Good choice," I replied, absorbing what the gentleman said. Though I was fairly certain I'd be able to come up with an excuse good enough to fool Haruhi if she did see us together.

And thus we split paths. Koizumi and Nagato walking off towards deeper into town, me trying to "stalk" them, just in case Haruhi had any ideas of spying us. What I did instead was just finish the library book I borrowed, not wishing to make a waste of the effort of going all the way to the library to borrow something, only not to finish it.

Once Koizumi and Nagato were out of sight (which was not supposed to happen), I decided to take a stroll, in the direction they last went, reading at the same time. But as hard as I tried to focus on the book, the words were the last thing to enter my mind, which was trying to think exactly what was going on with Nagato, and why the IDSE did not bother to threaten Nagato anymore.

My mind traced back to thinking of the Nagato back in the alternate reality, where she was the shy, and sole member of the literacy club. I shuddered thinking of the Nagato I knew now acting that way, and how Haruhi would react if that did happen. And, what's more, is the fact of the IDSE. If it threatened to delete Nagato back then, but not now in the present, what was the problem back then? Was it not emotions, or was it? Curse, all this really can make a worried mind hurt, a lot.

Still, I could not help but be happy for her. I was hoping that one day she could gain emotions, and get along with everyone else in the brigade, and now here, she practically has confessed that she has emotions, or at least that's what Koizumi thinks. Nevertheless, it was a sign of hope, and a good sign that I could build up a better friendship with her.

Also, I could not deny the fact that Koizumi was a suitable person to approach to, when in need of any consultation for… anything. He was the only one I could comfortably talk to in the brigade, and he does provide valuable insight to what I ask him for. Also, I have admitted the fact that Nagato and Koizumi being together is quite a good combination, and if they were together, I have no doubt that Nagato will learn how to manage her emotions properly, as well as gain a better understanding of emotion itself.

Sigh, all I can do now is wait and see how Koizumi will progress with Nagato. They are a good combination, but I do doubt that Haruhi's motives really are what she thinks it is. After listening to both Koizumi's and Nagato's explanation, I'm fairly certain it's just Koizumi counseling the alien, nothing more wild than that.

The vibration in my pocket snapped me out of my daydreaming, and I took out my phone to see something I didn't want to: an incoming call from our 'beloved' brigade leader.

"Hello?" I greeted.

"Kyon, you done yet?" I heard Haruhi's voice, calm and gentle. No screams or explosive greetings. This does not make me feel comfortable.

"I guess," I replied, "you've wrapped up the search?"

"Yeah!" came her energetic response, "Once I dismiss the search group, meet me and Mikuru-chan at the town square to tell us everything!"

"Yes ma'am," I replied, heading to the library to drop off my book first.

* * *

><p>"They are acting pretty close, but that's all I could monitor from a distance," I lied, not wishing to expose Nagato's secret to Haruhi, "any closer and I'd be busted immediately. I doubt you'd want that."<p>

"Well, no matter, it still confirms it!" Haruhi exclaimed, "they are together! I was right all along!"

"But-but, they may just be building friendships and-" Asahina-san stuttered but got cut off quite fast.

"That's evidence already! It's just the first parts of building a full relationship!"

I sighed, not bothering to make any comment. Already knowing that they weren't really together (at least in theory), I decided it wasn't worth the time to argue a pointless argument with Haruhi. Let her assume all she wants, it doesn't matter as long as she doesn't do anything too outrageous.

After a few exchange of words, or more like a war of words (a very one sided one), Asahina-san and Haruhi finally stuck to the conclusion that 'Koizumi and Nagato still do not want their relationship to be revealed', where everything would (hopefully) stay calm and where it should be. With that, Haruhi declared the meeting over, and I finally could utilize the most of my weekend for my own personal reasons.

"Anyway, good work, Kyon!" Haruhi praised me as she left for her home, "this won't be the end of your work though! We'll need your help next time!"

"No problem at all, glad I could help," I replied. Wow. Haruhi thanked me, that is going to take some time to get used to. Guess I've accomplished quite a feat there.

"Bye, Kyon-kun!" Asahina-san said as she too walked off, "sorry for landing you into this!"

Glad you recognize your wrong there, Asahina-san.

As I prepared my walk home, I saw a familiar face walking in my direction, oblivious to exactly what happened between me and the two ladies, or perhaps aware of it all along. Approaching him, I decided to confirm my suspicions about whether he was aware of Haruhi still being extremely persistent about seeing him and Nagato together, and whether he really was with Nagato.

"Ah, good afternoon Kyon, we meet again," Koizumi greeted me as soon as he saw me approach him, "had another meeting with our dear Suzumiya-san again, I believe?"

Suspicion number one confirmed. Proceeding with the second one.

"Good guess, you hit the nail," I replied, greeting him with a wave while at it, "she's still not giving up. Guess that's Haruhi for you."

"No denying that," he replied, "but besides brigade business, what would you be doing now?"

"Nothing in particular, really."

"Very well, could you spare a few minutes of your time? I was looking for someone to talk to. You just happened to be the first one I ran into. Mind a drink?"

"As long as it's your treat, I'm all for it."

"No problem at all."

I wondered why he'd want to talk to me; it seemed quite out of place for him to do so. Koizumi was the type who would seem quite steadfast, without any need of emotional support whatsoever. So perhaps this talk had something to do with Haruhi.

We ended up at the nearest McDonald's, which was just along the lines of the town square. After Koizumi ordered and got the drinks, we got seated, and I got the ball rolling.

"So really, what did you ask me out for? I doubt it's just for the company."

"Oh no, not at all," he replied, the usual smile on his face "I have quite enough company back in the Agency. This has to do with something else, not really related to the brigade and Suzumiya-san, but a topic where she has shown interest in."

"I see. This is about Nagato, then?" I asked flatly.

"Indeed," his smile immediately disappeared, his normal cheerful face replaced with one of a little sadness, "as you know, she already has given the both of us a status report of her current situation, where I am doing the best I can to help her."

"Alright. But there's been something strange happening with her?" I inquired, concerned for him.

"You are half right. There has been something strange going on, but not with her. To put it simply, the problem lies with me, down here," he put his right hand over his left chest, where the human heart would be.

"A problem with the heart?" I asked, not expecting it to be literal.

"Correct. As normal people would say, the heart is the one that guides emotions, am I right?"

"I believe so."

"Hmm. Then the problems with emotions will not lie with Nagato anymore then, it will be lying with me."

"You?"

"That's right," Koizumi sighed as he took a sip off his drink, a frown where his smile was supposed to be, "I am not sure whether it is Suzumiya-san's doing, or whether it is my own heart betraying my beliefs."

I waited for him to continue, as I never had seen this friend of mine behave in such a melancholic manner before. The next words that he spoke, though, shocked me.

"Whether it was Suzumiya-san triggering it or not, the end result is the same.

"I do believe I am in love with Yuki Nagato."


End file.
